Authors

Document Type

Report

Publication Date

8-2016

Research Center

Center for Economic Development

Abstract

This report and the accompanying Eastern Ohio Shale and Housing Dashboard (http://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/urban_facpub/1383/) were prepared by a team of researchers from Cleveland State University’s Levin College of Urban Affairs (CSU) for the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) to monitor the impact of the Utica shale development industry on housing affordability and availability in eight counties of eastern Ohio. The eight counties (Belmont, Carroll, Columbiana, Guernsey, Harrison, Jefferson, Monroe, and Noble) are home to the largest concentrations of shale activity in the state.

The research team developed three indicators related to shale development (well count, potential employment, and oil price) and five indicators related to housing markets (number of home sales, median sale price, days on market, rent per square foot, and rental vacancy rate). These indicators are presented in the accompanying dashboard, which will be updated by the team on a quarterly basis for 2016. This report provides background information about the shale industry and housing market characteristics in the eight-county region to set the context for understanding the dashboard indicators. It also provides the detailed methodology used in creating the indicators so that OHFA can continue to monitor the shale industry and housing market in the region.

This first iteration of the dashboard presents data for the first and second quarters of shale indicators and the first quarter of housing indicators for 2016. The data are presented by county and for the eight-county region as a whole. Consecutive updates of the dashboard will be released in October 2016 and January 2017.